


The Strange Happenings of Lakefield

by Werepirechick



Category: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TV 2012), Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - All Media Types
Genre: All the shenanigans, Awkward Flirting, Developing Relationship, Diners, Established Relationship, F/M, Ghost Hunters, Ghost Shenanigans, Haunted Houses, Hotels, M/M, Multi, Mutual Pining, Native American/First Nations Culture, Paranormal Investigators, Protective Siblings, Romantic Shenanigans - Freeform, Small Towns, Video Cameras, YouTube, all of them - Freeform, and just spooky shit everywhere, but they already bf and gf to each other, i'd say more but spoilers, its mild tho, oh no, poc characters, sibling shenanigans, tfw you want the gf AND the bf, the author doesn't actually know much about technology pls forgive them
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-10-19
Updated: 2017-11-02
Packaged: 2019-01-19 23:42:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 8,741
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12420645
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Werepirechick/pseuds/Werepirechick
Summary: Also known as "The Conjuring (of shenanigans)"Six paranormal investigators arrive in the same small town to look into the bizarre and tragic haunting of it, split into a team of four and a team of two. When the quartet meets the duo, they agree to cooperate and try to solve the mystery together as a proper group.If only things could have gone that smoothly.





	1. Prelude: my brother, my brother, my brother, and also my brother, and a bee.

**Author's Note:**

> whoa!! it's halloween! i'm going to a party for the first time in four years!! what a time to be alive.
> 
> here's the starting chapter of this fic, i hope everyone enjoys themselves as i throw this nonsensical romantic horror story onto the internet.
> 
> chapter title to this prelude is accompanied by the line "We're Obviously Very Serious About Our Job".

“Is it on-?”

“Yes it’s on, shh- start the show-”

“I don’t see the light are you _sure_ it’s on-”

“-I’m the one holding the camera, _yes it’s on, Mikey-”_

“- _HELLO SUBSCRIBERS,”_ Mikey exclaims, throwing his arms out and grinning into the camera lens. His dark thick curls bounce as he does, skipping backwards from the camera and gesturing to the forest around him. “and welcome to another episode of _Boo Crew!”_

“That is not our name, don’t listen to him,” A broader young man says, pushing into the frame. He crosses his arms over his dark red hoodie, scowling at Mikey. “We had a week long fight about the name and I refuse to change it again.”

Mikey rolls his eyes, shoving his brother back. “Okay, fine, if you wanna be like that, Raph. Hello and welcome to another episode of _Cryptid Crew,_ although I still feel like the fact that we’re hunting ghosts specifically justifies the _Boo Crew_ title.”

“I still think _Investispectres_ would be good for this,” Says the cameraman, and Mikey gestures towards him.

“See? Donnie thinks the name change would be good for ghost hunting.”

“Week long fight. Never again.”

“Guys, the show?” Someone prompts, off-screen. Mikey snaps back to the point of the video and grins.

“Right! Thank you, Leo. Okay so we all left off about three weeks ago, but we uh.”

“There was shit that came up,” Raph says curtly, glaring at the camera.

“Yeah, and we lost all the footage from that particular adventure,” Mikey shrugs. “But just so you all know though, vampires are real.”

“Unfortunately,” Raph grumbles.

Mikey pats Raph’s shoulder sympathetically. “And this is why you get to be the main host for this episode series. Which! Would be us hunting down real live evidence that _ghosts. Are. Real!”_

“Ghosts are not real,” Raph says, shaking his head dismissively at the camera.

“Ghosts are REAL and we’re going to prove it!” Mikey counters.

“We’re going to _dis_ prove it.”

“And this is why you’re the host for this series, and I’m the cohost. Excellent dynamic of belief and disbelief.”

“It only took you two about two sentences to get off track again,” Leo says, stepping into the frame. Mikey and Raph both roll their eyes as he does, and Leo sets himself in the center of the shot. “I’ll just do it so we can finish driving into town and get some real dinner. So, here we are, on the outskirts of the town we’re visiting.” Leo gestures to his right, and the camera follows it. An old wooden sign is stuck into the ground, welcoming travellers to the town of Lakefield. “And no, before anyone comments, I don’t know why a place is called Lakefield when there isn’t a lake for at least five hundred miles each way.”

“It’s called Lakefield because back in the late 1700’s when it was founded, there _was_ a lake here,” Donnie supplies, the camera shaking as he adjusts it. “but it dried up not even twenty years after they settled, leaving behind a large stretch of land that eventually became scrub grass fields. The name Lakefield stuck though, and thus we have the modern day lakeless Lakefield.”

Mikey shoots double pistols at Donnie, grinning. “And that was this scene’s info dump. Thank you, Donnie.”

“You’re welcome.”

“Getting back on track-” Leo starts to say, only to be shoved out of the scene by Mikey.

“No, nope, nah- Leo you got to be host last time, this is Raph’s turn!”

“What if I don’t want to be?”

“I appreciate that this is only take one, and already we’re going to need to redo it like, ten times,” Donnie says, laughing behind the camera.

Mikey hauls Raph back into the center of the shot, and they both ignore Leo’s grumblings outside the frame. “We’ll just edit out the usual nonsense and whatever. Anyways. Raph, if you would _please?”_

Raph looks long-sufferingly at the camera. “Fine. The reason we’re here is because there’s a  little known haunting in the town, and we’re hoping to get a good paranormal experience because, what. No one else comes here? I can’t believe that’s the logic to this.”

“If the ghosts are here, then they’ll be more excited to get attention like this,” Mikey explains brightly. “I mean, it’s like they’re the kids picked last for gym class, and we’re picking them first for once. That’s gotta make a difference with shit.”

“If ghosts are real, I really doubt they work like that.”

“They’re former people! People like to feel special; ergo, ghosts do, too.”

Raph gives the camera another disbelieving look, countered by Mikey’s utterly enthused smile.

“Who will win?” Mikey asks. The camera zooms in on them slowly, eerie music starting to play. “Believers, or a stick in the mud? _Ow,_ hey!”

“Ghosts are not real,” Raph repeats firmly, holding Mikey at arm’s reach so his brother can’t elbow him back.

Mikey swats Raph’s arm. “Ghosts are real and I’m going to convince one of them to pants you on camera.”

“Good luck with that.”

The title _Cryptid Crew_ appears underneath the two brothers, the creepy music climaxing, and abruptly Mikey screams, running off camera. Donnie swivels the camera to follow, he and the other three brothers starting to laugh.

 _“BEE!”_ Mikey shrieks, running as a nearly unidentifiable bug chases him.

“I think it’s a wasp, actually,” Donnie comments, still idly following Mikey’s zig zag running.

_“That’s WORSE!”_

“Mike, hold still so I can hit it!” Raph says, and Donnie turns the camera on him just in time to see Raph attempt to hit the wasp with a swing of his hoodie as Mikey runs past. Raph stands there for a moment, holding his hoodie by the sleeve, and then glances at the camera. “Did I get it?”

The camera zooms in; focusing on the little black and yellow insect perched on Raph’s pulled back black hair.

“Not quite,” Donnie says. “It’s on your head.”

Raph barely has a chance to scream before Leo’s open palm slaps him.

“There,” Leo says firmly, holding up his hand and the evidence of bug guts. “I got it.”

Raph stares at the guts, absolutely horrified, and his brown skin is starting to pale in places. He touches the spot where the bug had been, and takes his fingers away to stare at the mangled foot that had been left behind.

“Oh my god,” He says, turns a queasy pale color, and runs towards a collection of bushes by the town sign. As he bends over the bushes, noisily retching, Mikey re-enters the scene.

“Is it gone?” He asks. Mikey glances at Raph, makes an _Oh_ expression, and goes to hold his brother’s ponytail out of the way.

Donnie is laughing as he zooms out, getting all three of his siblings in the scene again. Leo is still standing with his hand raised, the smear on it visible even far away, and Mikey is patting Raph’s back.

“I think that’s good for take one,” Donnie says.

“We’re editing that all out later, right, Donnie?” Leo asks.

“Yeah, sure we are.”

“Donnie.”

Donnie laughs. “And that’s our teaser trailer, folks. Don’t forget to like comment and subscribe-”

“ _Donnie!”_

The camera cuts out, and the title card for the _Cryptid Crew_ floats up onto screen, surrounded by the candid shots of the four hosts; all in varying moments of seriousness and hilarity.


	2. Chapter 1: an opened door that opens possibilities, but is perceived as shut.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> in which there is coffee and misunderstandings.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oh? so soon? welcome back everyone.

An unfortunate side effect of being in small towns, April is coming to discover, is that they usually have a single chain restaurant and then nothing but local cuisine. Ordinarily she’s perfectly fine with this, but in the event that she is running on five hours of sleep and the fumes of a long road trip, she really, _really_ wishes there were a Starbucks conveniently present to award her caffeine.

There isn’t. There’s just a small java shop, proclaimed as such by the sign, and April is resigning herself to a lack of delicious and overpriced mass produced coffee this morning. The Denny’s down the block might be good for a little later, good food is important and Denny’s is generally reliable, but right now April has a single goal as she marches determinedly through the brisk morning air.

_Coffee._

It figures that as she puts her palm on the glass door, she pushes it inwards and knocks some poor fellow over in her zealousness to reach the warm interior. He loses his footing, also losing grip on the tray of drinks he’s carrying, and nearly falls over in a crash of lanky limbs.

“Oh _shit,_ shit I’m so sorry, are you okay?” April asks, rushing the rest of the way inside and trying to save any of the drinks that’ve fallen. It looks unlikely; the floor is a massacre of brown liquid and whip cream. “Oh my god I’m _so sorry_ about your coffee-”

“No, no it’s my fault,” The man says hurriedly, also trying to salvage the drinks. His long black braid flops over his shoulder from the way he’s bent over the mess, and he flips it back over with a shrug. “I should’ve been paying attention to whether or not someone was coming inside, I just get a little hyper focused with my, um.”

“Your fix?” April says ruefully, holding two mostly emptied cups to him. “Same. It’s why I came charging in like that. Sorry again for this.”

The man laughs, cinnamon red eyes crinkling behind thinly rimmed glasses as he takes the cups to stack on the cardboard tray again. “Well, you thoroughly murdered me and my brothers’ coffee, but I think for your reasons I can forgive you. Caffeine addiction gets to the best of us.”

“Let me buy you replacements,” April says as they rise from the floor. _Wow,_ April thinks as the man stands to his full height. _He’s awfully tall._

As the man starts to protest, she holds up a hand. “No arguments. It’s the least I can do.”

He gives her an exasperated expression, but relents with a bemused smile. His teeth are slightly crooked on the side of his front ones, making a tiny gap. “Alright, fair enough. It’s not like I could turn down a free coffee anyways.”

April thinks the little gap between his front teeth is quite cute, along with how sincerely he apologizes to the young man who comes to clean up their mess. He declines the owner’s attempt to reimburse him with free drinks, and sneakily gets a ten dollar bill onto the counter to add to April’s payments of the drinks. April decides that he’s quite charming, as he holds the door for her on the way out and sticks out his hand once they’re on the sidewalk.

“My name’s Donatello,” He says, and smiles wide enough his little gap is clearly visible. “but everyone calls be Donnie. Sorry for the trouble.”

“Oh, no, no the trouble was my fault,” April insists. She takes his hand, shaking firmly and feeling little callouses along Donnie’s palm. “I’m April. Everyone calls me April, or Red if you’re a specific someone.”

“Nice to meet you,” Donnie says pleasantly, releasing her hand. They start walking, a cool wind sweeping past to blow April’s bangs in her face. She brushes them away, and Donnie speaks again. “Sorry- where are you headed? I’m still a little on autopilot from driving all night.”

“Cisco hotel, about five blocks that way. I’m staying there right now.”

“Oh, same here. I guess we’re neighbors.”

“I guess so.”

A single truck drives past them, the streets still predictably empty on the account of the small population. April tries to keep herself contained, but the silence makes her want to fill it.

“Hey, um. Are you from out of town?” She asks Donnie. He nods once.

“Yep, I’m passing through for a few days with my brothers. And you too, if my guess is correct,” He then shakes his head. “Wait, not as in you’re also passing through with my brothers, I meant-”

“No I got it,” April assures with a giggle. Donnie’s brown cheeks pink a little, which is just adorable. “I’m in town for a few days, too, but not with you and your brothers. Though technically, I guess I am since we’re all staying here.”

“Yeah, technically so,” Donnie agrees with a grin. “So what brings you to Lakefield? They don’t exactly have a booming tourist industry, no offense to anyone who lives here.”

“Oh, nothing really,” April replies vaguely. “Mostly just taking a rest stop before moving on.”

“Ah, sort of the same, then.”

April nods, and doesn’t say a word about how she’s here to hunt ghosts. Donnie is cute, but she doubts the little glances he keeps giving her would last if she opened her mouth and professed that this town is the first stop of her gap year project to document and contact the paranormal.

Still, maybe she’ll have time between hunts to see if Donnie is open to a dinner at Denny’s or a trip to the local bar.

They make small talk until they reach the hotel, which is closer to a motel in truth, and April learns a few things about Donnie as he does about her. He’s a middle child, twin to another older brother and just a year ahead of their youngest, and there are four of them all together. April says she gathered as much from the count of coffees. Donnie in turn learns that April is an only child, with a single parent who raised her, and he confesses that he has a single parent similarly.

He asks where she’s from, and she tells him the New York area. It turns out that he is too, and comments they’re all pretty far from home. April says that while New York is enormous and full of things to do, there’s just something to travelling while you’re young. Feels adventurous. Donnie laughs, not unkindly, and says he understands that perspective very well.

They pause in the parking lot of the hotel-motel, lingering together.

“So,” Donnie says, and April definitely sees a hint of pink in his cheeks as he does. It makes her smile. “maybe some time, while we’re both still in town, we could, uh, if you’re interested in it, we could maybe meet up again for dinner-?”

“ _April!_ ” Someone interrupts, and Donnie cuts off as another lanky man emerges from one of the ground level rooms to jog over to them.

“You took for _ever_ with that coffee run,” Casey says with a grin, black hair a disaster from sleeping. He throws an arm over her shoulders as he reaches her, still giving her a happy grin. “I was starting to think I’d have to come find you myself. Or drink motel coffee, which is shit.”

“I wasn’t even gone twenty minutes,” April says, rolling her eyes. Casey hums in a way that says he doesn’t really care who's right, and snatches up his share of caffeine. He then notices that April isn’t alone, and April nearly sighs at the slightly crestfallen expression Donnie is hiding.

“Oh, sup,” Casey says to Donnie, aiming a politely greeting smile towards him. “I’m Casey. You a friend of Red’s?”

Donnie blinks away his disappointment, and April sees him force himself to be as amiable as Casey is being. “I’m Donnie, and I think so. We met because she brutally murdered me and my brothers’ order of coffee.”

“Jeez, April,” Casey laughs. “You gotta get that addiction under control. Dunno how many more times we can get away with assault like that.”

April gives her boyfriend a flat look, but lets a smile find its way onto her face. “Says the person who body checks people for fun in his spare time.”

“Excuse you, they know exactly what kind of risks they’re facing when they step into the rink with Casey Jones.”

“Sure,” April says, ignoring Casey’s falsely offended expression.

Donnie coughs, taking a step away from them both. “Well, I should be getting back. Leo complains when his whip cream melts before he gets to eat it. See you around?”

“Sure, see you,” April agrees, and waves Donnie off as he walks away quickly. She and Casey stand in quiet for a moment, as Donnie climbs the steps to the second floor and disappears, and then Casey breaks the silence.

“He was kinda cute,” Casey comments, April humming in agreement as she drinks her coffee. He frowns, looks at their positions, and then says, “Wait, were you trying to pick him up?”

“Mmmmhm.”

“And I. Just. Aw fuck,” Casey groans. “And I went and made us exclusive, _dammnit._ Now neither of us gets to hit on him without it looking bad.”

“Mhm,” April hums again. She drops her head on Casey’s shoulder. “Good job, hon.”

“Can I blame this on that you’re too cute to _not_ be affectionate towards constantly?”

“You can if you come massage my shoulders while I research.”

“Ooh, cool by me.”

Casey steers them back towards their room, their legs in time despite their height difference.

“…we need to work out a proper signal some time, so this stops happening,” Casey says as they enter. “That guy had nice legs.”

“He very definitely did,” April agrees, remembering Donnie’s stride and jeans. Nice tight jeans.

“Man. Does my butt look like that at all?”

“Casey, I’m sorry but your butt does not. It’s flat as asphalt.”

“Wow, not even softening the blow. My own girlfriend.”

“Hush, and get on with massaging. We have a lot of work to do.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> tfw you and your partner are happily polyamorous but can't actually find someone to poly with. ahahaha.
> 
> established capril, but budding apritello and interested jonatello? excellent. love for donatello is always welcome. he deserves it.


	3. Chapter 2: sightseeing and slight swindling.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oh we're back! hello!

“I’m back,” Donnie says, opening the door and stepping inside.

“Holy shit he lives,” Mikey says, currently in the middle of a handstand. Donnie barely gives this a second look, on the account that Mikey doing handstands for no discernible reason is absolutely normal. His brother flips onto his feet, nimble as anything. “You got the good stuff?”

“As good as local coffee gets,” Donnie replies, handing off the tray. Mikey takes it, heading towards where Raph is still hiding in the blankets of his bed and Leo is tapping away on a laptop beside him.

“What? Oh, thanks,” Leo takes the coffee thrust into his sight and peers at it. “Whip cream?”

“Yep, and I promise I made it here fast as I could so it didn’t melt,” Donnie takes off his coat, kicking off his shoes as he does.  “Well. Given the circumstances, at least.”

“Circumstances?” Mikey asks, sounding very interested. He kicks Raph’s side and their brother grumbles, only sticking out a hand far enough to grab his coffee.

“I, uh,” Donnie sits down on his and Mikey’s bed, remembering April. “I met a girl.”

“Oh a _girl?”_ Leo asks with a grin. Raph actually raises himself off the bed, sitting up and blowing his shaggy hair out of his face. Mikey eyes are wide and keenly trained on Donnie.

“Was she cute?” Mikey asks.

“Very,” Donnie says. April’s freckles- he couldn’t count them all with a glance, but he’d wanted to.

“So she was cute, and you took the time to talk with her obviously,” Raph says. He takes a sip of his coffee. “And yet, you’re moping.”

“…yeah,” Donnie says, remembering Casey. He sighs.

“So a cute, but _taken_ girl,” Raph observes with a smirk.

“Yeah,” Donnie repeats, sighing again and flopping backwards onto the bed. His brothers make a range of sympathetic sounds and chuckles.

“Taken by an equally cute guy too, I’m guessing,” Raph continues. Donnie groans, putting his hands over his face. His twin laughs. “I’ll take that as a yes.”

“Fuck off,” Donnie grumbles. “I just experienced grievous disappointment. I brought you coffee. Be nice to me.”

“I’m being nice,” Leo says. “I’m doing research for you and not taking down that trailer you posted of us.”

“You’re excused, then,” Donnie allows. “The other two of you are however not.” He wheezes as a weight suddenly lands on his stomach, and Donnie raises his head just enough to see Mikey’s errantly curled hair.

“Dee, you have _got_ to stop doin’ this stuff to yourself,” Mikey says, settling across Donnie’s sternum.

“Hm, yes, I’ll definitely stop now that you’ve told me to and not after the three hundred times I’ve told myself to.”

Mikey swats at his chest. Donnie swats his at his curls.

“Drink coffee, you’ll feel better,” Mikey says. Donnie grunts, but that’s probably true. Caffeine fixes everything, almost.

“And _then,_ you can help me check the equipment,” Leo reminds. Donnie waves vaguely at his brother, agreeable to that idea. No use sulking about unattainable things when there’s ghosts to investigate.

They spend most of the morning lying around, lazily checking equipment and comments on their latest teaser clip. Donnie and Leo finish up with both of those things, while Mikey badgers Raph into an upright position to braid his loose and messy hair. They toss around brunch ideas, and ultimately decide on Denny’s, since they don’t know any of the other businesses.

A stop in that lasts another hour, close to noon, and a near buffet of pancakes and omelettes later, they pack up and head to the first site they’re going to search in. The general idea is to get in some daytime footage of the original double murder/suicide to act as a parallel to the nighttime footage.

Donnie rests the camera on his shoulder, putting his eye to the viewpoint and hitting record.

His brothers all stand in the middle of the wide clearing, a good walk off the main streets of town and into the wood. Mikey is bouncing on his feet, eagerly looking around the tall grassy area for sign of spectres. Leo is fiddling with their EMF reader, turning in a slow circle as he tests the natural and manmade electrical fields that might be nearby. Raph stands with his arms crossed, staring right at the camera with his usual vaguely grumpy expression.

“So here we are,” Raph starts without prompt. “Nearly twenty hours of driving and three days of taking our sweet time at rest stops- _Leo_ -” _“My personal hygiene is important, fuck off.”_ “-at the little known spot of a spectacular failure of romance. And I have my brothers for comparison; this is bad even by our standards.”

“I resent that remark,” Mikey says, and Raph ignores his response to the pointed comment. Donnie rolls his eyes at the comment, and knows Leo is as well. Really, the day Raph ever makes a fool of himself with romance, no one is going to show him mercy.

“Gist of things, a guy and a girl fell in love and they weren’t supposed to,” Raph continues. Donnie zooms in slowly as Raph speaks, closing Leo and Mikey out of the frame. “Predictably the girl’s family didn’t appreciate her goin’ off with some guy they didn’t approve, something about a family feud I think. Older brother of her’s challenges the loverboy to a duel, pistols are drawn, boom. Two dead guys and a grief stricken lady. She takes her life right after with her boyfriend’s pistol, and end result is a bunch of over emotional people dead on the ground.”

“You could be a little more sympathetic, Raph,” Leo chides. Donnie turns the camera on him, catching Leo’s grimace. “If ghosts are real, it won’t do us any favors antagonising them like that.”

“They made a bunch of bad choices based on emotional hysteria; I’m allowed to call it for it is.”

“Like _you_ don’t get emotionally hysteric, bro,” Mikey snarks, to which Raph tells him to bugger off. Donnie switches focuses and opts to Mikey’s position with the camera. His brother grins and spreads his arms. “’kay, to add to what we already talked about, the anniversary of their deaths is approximately this week within the next few days. We’re gonna come back here every night for the next while and see if we can make contact with one of them. Personally, I’m super stoked to meet a real life ghost.”

“I really, really doubt we will,” Raph says, but as Donnie swaps the camera onto him, he continues in a grumble, “ _But,_ if we get proof… then okay. Ghosts could be real.”

“I’m absolutely sure we will.”

“And I’m not.”

Donnie turns the camera on Leo, who shrugs at it.

“I’m hoping for them, to be honest,” Leo tells their future viewers. “We grew up on stories like this, but we’ve never personally experienced this type of paranormal activity. It’d be really neat to see our _akso:t’s_ stories be true.”

Donnie smiles at Leo’s optimism, and turns the camera back onto their brothers in time to see Mikey gross Raph out with a deer skull he’s found in the tall grass. A few more good shots of banter and scenery, and they opt to pack up and go check out the meager museum the town has. It’s supposed to have an exhibit about the triple death.

Donnie pauses as he’s leaving the clearing, wind sweeping past and catching the hairs that’ve fallen out of his braid.

The breeze ripples over the dry, dead grass; shimmering nearly gold in the sun. The whole of the area looks so peaceful; it’s hard to believe this is where just a tragedy occurred.

Donnie shivers internally, and picks up the pace to catch up with his brothers. The EMF reader hasn’t picked up anything weird and they didn’t exactly ask any spirits to show themselves just yet. But, because of all the things Donnie _has_ seen when poking around at the paranormal, he feels a smidge of unease about the tranquil clearing.

 

 

 

 

The museum, in Raph’s opinion, is shitty.

There’s about five rooms tops. There’s only one floor. The bathroom is apparently for staff only. The only staff present is a very elderly lady who mistook Donnie for a woman, on the account of her cataracts and Donnie’s high pitched screech when Mikey put an ice cold pop on the back of his neck. Probably the hair, too.

Raph sighs, looking at the ancient pistols locked inside the glass case he’s in front of. It isn’t even a guarantee these are the original guns used in the fight; they’re just old as hell and accompanied by a plaque proclaiming their authenticity.

At least they look cool, and there was a convenience store close enough nearby the snacks Mikey brought back were still warm/cold when he arrived. Raph already finished his share of the kabobs, but he’s barely resisting eating Leo’s share in the box he’s holding. Leo is busy doing an interview with the old lady at the desk, and while Raph is the official host of this episode, he needs a break from talking so much.

Hence staring blankly at the pistols, while he vaguely listens to Mikey and Leo chatter happily back near the entrance. Extroverts; Raph will never understand their endless energy for people.

He gives in and eats one of the chicken pieces from Leo’s kabob. They’ll get him something else later; Raph is hungry and still woozy from the long drive.

He looks up from his one sided staring contest as someone calls his name, grimacing as he’s summoned out from the room he’s hiding in. Another yell of his name, and Raph finally follows its call. He would’ve rather keeping out of sight a little longer, but their show waits for no man. Certainly not when Mikey has any say in it.

Raph squints his eyes as he enters the wide, sunny front entrance; big windows letting in a ton of light. They sting a little, like they have the last couple weeks. He ignores it because it’s stupid, and powers through the discomfort. Mikey and Leo wave him over, and Donnie thankfully has their camera lowered and turned off. No sign of the desk lady either, so Raph feels less uncomfortable as he rejoins the group. He tosses the kabobs at Leo as Mikey starts filling him in.

“We got permission to come back tonight,” Mikey enthuses, grinning brightly. “Diane says since we’re very nice seeming boys she’ll let us come inside and try a séance without any supervision at all. Great, right?”

Raph grunts. Nighttime will promise even less people out and about- and no more squinting for him in sunlight, thank god- so another late evening is okay by him. Not like they had any real sleep schedule anyway.

“And how’d you swing that?” Raph asks, and Mikey shrugs innocently. Like he doesn’t know he charms people like this on purpose, leaving them confused why they’ve given so much to someone so sneaky.

“You heard what she said,” Donnie says dryly, plastering on a sickeningly sweet toothy smile. “we’re such _nice_ seeming boys!”

“Stop that, you look like a psycho,” Raph says, prompting an even weirder smile from Donnie. Raph sneers at the smile, and then they simultaneously roll their eyes at each other.

“So, we have a key, official permission, and a lot of hours to kill before sunset,” Leo announces. He gives them all a questioning stare. “What’re we doing until then?”

“Prep gear?” Donnie suggests.

“Catch a movie?” Mikey offers.

“Sleep?” Raph likes his idea best.

“All good options,” Leo smacks his fist in his palm. “Rock paper scissors for it.”

Raph goes with scissors. He wins over Mikey and Leo, who chose paper, and gets smashed by Donnie’s rock. He sighs loudly as Donnie crows his victory.

“Hardware and grocery stores first, then we go back to the hotel,” Donnie instructs them all as they file out of the museum. Raph glares at the world, eyes stinging as they head for their big van. He feels his twin pat the top of his head, and doesn’t shrug off the touch. “Then we can chill out for a bit, Raph. You’ll get your nap.”

“Thank fuck,” Raph says. He isn’t sure he could’ve kept his temper if he didn’t get a good rest in before evening fell.

“Can we hit the theatre tomorrow, then?” Mikey asks, opening the back of the van for Donnie to put the camera down. “They got some old classics playin’ and I’m kinda interested in seeing _The Heathers_ in surround sound.”

“We’ve already watched that like, three times this year online,” Raph points out. “Why pay money to see it again?”

Mikey shrugs. “Good sound quality makes all the difference, bro. Gotta take the good stuff when you see it.”

“Fair enough.”

 _“Shotgun,”_ Donnie abruptly says, and disappears in a rush of air only long legged people can. Raph doesn’t even bother giving chase, unlike Mikey who tries ineffectually to tackle their brother, and just shuts the van’s back door. He’s too tired to run around like that just yet. Maybe tonight, later.

He climbs inside beside a whining Mikey, and Leo starts the engine of their van.  As they pull away from the museum, Raph leans his head back and closes his eyes. He listens to Donnie, Mikey, and Leo collectively plan their shopping lists- nails, salt, probably a new bat since Mikey broke the last one, bananas and apples, some buns, maybe instant ramen noodles. The longer the list gets, the sleepier Raph gets.

He falls asleep, and blissfully, no one wakes him again until they return to the hotel.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> #LetRaphNap2017
> 
> also: akso:t is the Seneca word for grandmother. in this universe, the boys are Asian/Native and come from that particular people. i'll list any translations needed in these comments as we go. (far as i can tell, this is the correct translation. let me know if it isn't, i'm only a canadian native so i don't know much about cultures down that way.)


	4. Chapter 3: ghosts? goats??

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oh? are we live? 
> 
> hello citizens, welcome back.

Standing in the doorway of a tiny, dusty, absolutely deserted and probably haunted museum is actually near the top of Mikey’s Fun Things To Do list. Or at least tonight it is.

“Welcoming,” Donnie comments dryly as the floorboard creak ominously, taking the weight of four young adults with loud complaint.

“Not as creepy as some places we’ve been,” Mikey points out. He grins at his tallest brother, and by extension, their main camera. “Spiderwood was pretty bad.”

“Please. Do _not_ remind me of that place,” Raph shudders. He looks grossed out by his memories, but still much perkier now that the day has shifted well into evening. “Not even a thousand more subscribers could convince me to go back in there.”

Mikey slides close to the camera, grinning wickedly. “Hey, let’s make that the next goal, eh folks? A thousand more subscribers and we get Raph to go back inside Spiderwood for a full night.”

“I’m _right here,_ and fucking _no.”_

“We’ll put a pin in the idea,” Leo says diplomatically, but Mikey can see the tiny smirk tugging at his lips. Another night of Raph screaming at every little shadow that moves? On _film?_ Comedy gold for sure.

And Raph’s experience hadn’t even been all that bad in Spiderwood. Heck, it hadn’t even been him that got chased by the giant spiders! If anyone should be objecting it should be Mikey, but hey, he’s all set to go spider-cryptid hunting again any time they want to. Dog sized spiders aren’t _that bad_ when you have a bat and homemade flamethrower, thank you Donnie.

Actually that sounds like a fun side trip. Mikey is definitely going to bring up the idea whenever they get close to Spiderwood again.

“What is it with you and Donnie and psycho grins?” Raph asks as he shines his flashlight across Mikey’s face. “I don’t think I even want to know what you’re thinking of right now.”

“Probably not, no,” Mikey agrees, still grinning to himself.

As they make their way into the rather shallow depths of the small museum, the floor continues to creak and groan as they move. Mikey’s flashlight bounces off the glass cases they pass, containing artifacts and plaques from the town’s history. He listens with half an ear to Raph explaining the haunting that may be in this museum- potentially all three ghosts, having followed their preserved possessions.

The back room is exactly as it was earlier; a little barren, kinda dusty, filled with good vibes for ghost hunting. Fuck. Yes.

Mikey is absolutely pumped for this. Tonight, he’s going to meet not just one, but maybe _three_ ghosts, and this is every childhood dream he’s ever had come true.

“Everyone wearing their cameras and mics properly? _Mikey,”_ Donnie asks pointedly. Mikey rolls his eyes, because hey that was one time and ages ago, okay? He’s learned to secure the go-pro properly and not just wear it like a necklace.

“Good to go,” Mikey says, gesturing to the camera strapped around his chest; the same sort Raph has on his, but not Leo since they only have the two. “So. Who’s ready to talk with ghosts?”

Their EMF reader isn’t super helpful, detecting no odd electrical feedback anywhere nearby. Night vision on Donnie’s camera isn’t revealing anything either, so they end up pulling out their newest toy to use.

Mikey opts to go first, since he is a hundred percent ready for a ghostly occurrence to happen to him. They set the Spirit Box- a little radio device that switches channels a crazy fast pace, which ghosts can theoretically talk through- on the floor of the room and form a loose circle around it. Mikey and Raph are closest, since this is their turn to host.

The little device is switched on by Raph, and Mikey wants to cover his ears as it is; the high-pitched sounds it makes as it rapidly scans radio channels _sucks,_ and this better be worth the money they spent getting it rush delivered to their last hotel room.

“Who should we chat up first?” He asks, glancing at his brothers.

“Maybe Katherine?” Leo suggests. “She’s the one who witnessed everything go down.”

A good enough starting point. Mikey clears his throat. “Hello, Katherine?” He asks, looking around the room. Some of her dresses were put on display here- or at least good replicas- so he looks at her section of the exhibit. Maybe something will move? “We heard about what happened. We’re really sorry for your loss, but it’s been like, a few hundred years. Think you’re open to talking about it yet?” He turns slowly, letting his chest camera catch the whole scene as Mikey keeps talking. “If you’re here, could you maybe tell us a little more about what happened? Like what started the family feud between yours and Elijah’s families?”

The Spirit Box continues to keen without noticeable interruption. Raph snorts.

“Well that was a waste of money,” He says dryly, and Mikey shushes him.

“It’s barely been a few seconds, give her a chance to respond!”

“Ah huh, sure.”

_g͏̨o ̨a̛ ͝t̴̕_

Mikey nearly screeches full volume. “AH! SEE?” Mikey points at the keening device. “Totally just said something! I think she said goat. The family feud started because of a goat.”

“And I think that was a weird radio noise,” Raph says dismissively, even though they _definitely_ just had a ghost talk to them.

Mikey ignores Raph’s disbelief and gets closer to the box, kneeling down. “Katherine, my brother is a disrespectful person who doesn’t think you just talked to us. Could you repeat that again, just to prove him wrong?”

Mikey hears Donnie get closer, and Leo following in suit. Even Raph gets closer, despite denying ghosts’ existence. They all hold their breath, listening to the Spirit Box keep skipping radio channels.

_g et̡̧ ̧̡o͠u̵͡ t̸_

Mikey does yell a little this time, looking up at Donnie’s big camera and grinning wildly.

 _“THERE!_ SHE- uh. Told us to get out!” Mikey laughs. “Wow that’s a little worrying. Cool.”

“That didn’t sound like a woman,” Leo says, kneeling down. He frowns at the little machine. “That sounded like a man.”

“It sounded like no one,” Raph denies firmly. “We’re talking to radio static right now.”

 _g͘o̶_  
͜͢  
̸̨̢a̴ w͞ ay͠  
̵͝

“And now we’re making him mad!” Mikey exclaims. This is going… well? It’s definitely a voice and not static. That’s something. “Leo, I charmed Diane. It’s your turn to fix the situation.”

Leo gives him a ‘ _really?’_ kind of look, but does so. “Hello, I’m guessing you’re either Elijah or George?” He asks politely. “We’re sorry to disturb you, but could you maybe answer a few more questions for us? Please? We’ll leave right after, promise.”

The Spirit Box doesn’t do anything besides whine and keen for a long moment, and Mikey sighs. “ _Now_ we’re just talking to static, Raph,” Mikey says. “You went and scared ‘em off.”

“Not my fault they’re oversensitive ghosts.”

“Uh, doesn’t excuse being so rude during a first impression, dumbass.”

Mikey dodges the mostly gentle cuff his brother aims at him, and they spend the next few minutes asking Katherine and maybe-George/maybe-Elijah to talk to them again. They get no response, dishearteningly.

“We’ll probably have more luck at their houses and actual place of death,” Donnie points out as they pack up their equipment. He’s still filming them all, eye glued to the viewpoint. “Wouldn’t you want to stick close to your house if you were dead, instead of your clothes?”

Mikey shrugs at him and the camera. “Dunno, never personally been dead.”

“Ha _ha_ , wise guy.”

“I’m hilarious.”

“Sure.”

“Okay, I’m hungry and we’ve gotten nothing out of this experience,” Raph announces, hands on his hips and glaring in Leo’s flashlight beam. “We’re going to Denny’s and getting actual food before we try anything else.”

Mikey kind of wants to stick around, try a few more tricks he’s seen on other paranormal hunting shows, but he isn’t going to say no to warm food that isn’t takeout. So they start to move out of the room, because the allure of good food isn’t one any of them can refuse. Mikey slows though, when he notices there’s only three sets of footsteps.

“Leo?” Mikey asks, glancing over his shoulder at the dark room; barely lit by Leo’s flashlight aimed at the class case, the one containing the guns. Mikey turns around, stepping back towards his brother. “Hey, you comin’?”

Leo makes a _“hm?”_ noise and comes back to reality, looking at Mikey with an questioning expression. “What?”

“Dude. _Food._ Food that isn’t burgers and fries in a paper bag.”

“Ah, right. Coming.”

Mikey grabs Leo’s hand as he ambles out, pulling his brother along so they’re not left behind by the twins. The room they leave in the dark remains as such, absolutely silent except for their fading footsteps away from it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> goats............


	5. Chapter 4: denny's!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oh hey look, we're back!
> 
> sorry for the delay, i was kinda drunk through halloween.

The Denny’s is cheerily lit and nearly empty as Casey steps inside it, only the faint sound of conversation from two occupied tables breaking the silence.

“Guess everyone eats at home on Tuesdays,” Casey remarks to April, who is pulling off her cute little pom-pom hat to shake out her messy hair.

“We’ll get better service this way,” She says as she tucks away her yellow hat. Casey nods absently, eyeing the _seat yourselves_ sign. April follows without complaint as he takes her hand, heading for the booths by the windows, furthest from the entrance.

As they near the back, a collection of rowdy voices suddenly breaks the near silence of the diner, and Casey’s eyes are drawn to a fully occupied table nearby.

Four young men, all dark skinned and black haired, are sitting in a booth together. One has close cropped hair, another thickly curled, and the last two with braids of varying lengths down their backs. Casey only takes a moment to identify the one with the longest hair as Donnie, from the parking lot conversation, and finds himself smiling a little.

Those must all be his brothers Donnie mentioned to April, and Casey very clearly recognizes sibling affection in the way the broadest brother is grabbing Donnie by his shoulders- who seems to be trying to disappear under the table at the moment- and waving them over with a yell.

Casey glances at April, who gives him an intrigued and bemused smile. They approach the table together.

(“I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I _hate you!!”_ Donnie says in a horrified rush. Oh god. How’s his hair? Did he even remember to brush his teeth this morning? Why are his brothers absolute assholes who laugh at his struggle?!

“You’ll thank me later,” Raph says, smug as anything, the utter _dick._

“ _I am putting snakes in your bed, first chance I get,”_ Donnie hisses.

“Yeah good luck with that. Oh look, here they come!”

“ _Oh god I hate all of you so much.”)_

“Hey strangers!” Donnie’s brother greets cheerily, stretching what look like piercing scars across his bottom lip as he grins at them. He tightens his hold on Donnie’s shoulders, who looks like he wants to escape out the sealed window beside their booth. His bright green eyes are glinting with humor as he holds Donnie to his side. “My brother here just pointed you out as some nice individuals he met in our hotel parking lot. How about you pull up a chair and we all introduce ourselves better?”

“ _Oh my god,”_ Donnie says under his breath, covering his eyes. The curly haired and short haired brothers laugh as he does, and now Casey is _very_ interested what the big deal is.

“ _Sure,”_ Casey agrees, grinning at the no doubt asshole brother who called them over. “We’d love to. You guys order yet?”

“Nope!” Curly haired sibling says brightly. “We were just fighting over that.”

“Among other things,” Donnie mutters belligerently, and April quirks that adorable little smile of hers. Casey isn’t even jealous it’s not aimed at him; Donnie’s obvious sulking is pretty hilarious.

“Ignore him, he’s just grumpy tonight,” Short haired sibling says. He holds out a menu to them both. “Here. Grab those chairs from that table and you can use mine; I already know what I’m ordering.”

Casey grabs chairs for him and April, sliding them to the end of the booth and making it so all of them can squeeze in to eat. He’s kinda interested in what Donnie is whispering furiously in low tones to his broad shouldered sibling, but they’re both too quick and quiet for him to hear properly.

Instead, his attention is stolen by the sibling with shortest hair. Said sibling sticks out his hand once they’ve taken the menu; clearly meaning to be formal about introductions.

“I’m Leonardo,” He says, and Casey notes how dark his blue eyes are as they shake, as well as how calloused his hands are and the sort of gentle intensity he carries. Leonardo shakes April’s hand right after. “But please, call me Leo.”

“I’m Mikey,” Adds the curly haired sibling, shoving Leo backwards against the seat to reach out and shake. Mikey’s grip is strong, and Casey is mildly impressed that both siblings so far have had such thick callouses on their hands. His eyes are a lighter shade of blue than Leo's, and a different sort of intensity. “Full name’s Michelangelo, but like, literally only my dad calls me that. Also my _akso:t_ , but she only does that when I’m being a shit.”

“Ak-what?” Casey asks, trying to pronounce the word and fumbling.

“My grandma. ‘s Seneca.”

“Ah, cool.”

“Donnie didn’t mention you were Seneca,” April says, taking a turn shaking Mikey’s hand. “I went to school with a few kids who were.”

Mikey grins as he releases the handshake, shifting a glance at Donnie across the table. “Eh, I think he was a little distracted.”

Mikey then winces sharply for a mysterious reason and stops talking. Donnie gives a strained smile to Casey and April and takes over.  “It’s not exactly something you can work into casual conversation,” He says, totally ignoring the glare Mikey is aiming at him. “and coffee runs tend to be very single minded ventures. Morning withdrawal, am I right?”

Donnie gives a laugh, cheeks red in patches, and Casey decides this show of awkwardness is actually pretty cute in a weird way. He glances out of the corner of his eye, and sees his girlfriend giving a look that used to, and still does, put a little rush of melty emotions in him. April sure does know how to pick ‘em.

Donnie then coughs, cutting off his own laughter, and nudges the brother who’d called them over to begin with. His brother rolls his eyes, but extends a hand.

“Raph,” He says shortly, shaking similarly. All of them seem to have calloused hands, and Casey wonders vaguely if it’s because of a family business. “Short for-”

“Raphael?” April finishes. She’s smiling that smile of hers, one that says she’s found something interesting and simply _has_ to find out the truth of it. “Like the renaissance painter? Because I’m starting to see a bit of a pattern here.”

Raph gives her a smirk, swapping his handshake with Casey for one with April. “Got it in one. The only explanation for them is really that our mom had a thing for renaissance artists. Honestly, our fate was sealed before she ever even met our dad.”

Casey can’t stop himself from asking. “Had?”

“Yeah. She passed away not long after Mike was born.”

Casey nods once, understanding that kind of experience. He misses his own mom in sharp fits and bursts, even now. And, he knows April gets it too. “I’m sorry for your loss.”

“Me too,” April adds softly, giving them a look just as, and even as Raph waves them off, Casey catches a glimmer of grateful emotion in Donnie’s expression. It’s only there for a moment, but he thinks he sees real sincerity aimed in his girlfriend’s direction.

Now if Casey could also get that aimed at him, they’d be golden.

“So,” April says a beat later, opening their menu and moving the conversation away from solemn things. “What are we getting for dinner tonight?”

The conversation moves along as April prompts it to, and for a while it’s just friendly small talk and the brothers bickering with each other. Casey engages Raph and Mikey in a conversation about sports- Casey is a fanatic for hockey, and he finds a bit of kinship about that with the brothers, though they follow football more closely than hockey- while April talks to Leo and Donnie about contemporary media and its predecessors. Some of it goes over Casey’s head, but it’s definitely entertaining to see Donnie light up the same moment April does, the two of them discovering they share a cult classic fave together.

Casey decides he’d be pretty alright with watching them do this again sometime; his girlfriend and this fairly handsome (okay, very handsome) man getting into a heated conversation about an animated horror-mystery movie told from the perspective of a cat. Even if Donnie is straight, which Casey is strongly hoping he is not, he thinks it may work out regardless.

As their conversation partners shift- Mikey catches wind of discussions about classic live-action shows and joins in with Leo, who is a bit of a nerd about _Star Trek_ as it turns out- and Casey ends up talking with Donnie and Raph about artwork. Donnie’s style sounds closer to architectural design, but Raph is more in Casey’s lane of freestyle. They all find common ground with spray paint, though; the brothers confessing they’ve done their share of minor vandalism, much to Casey’s delight, because same hat.

By the time their food comes, Casey has gotten Donnie to laugh approximately three times, and received something close to the smile he aims at April now and again. He thinks it’s as good a starting point as any.

 

 

 

When they all part ways, the brothers climbing into their big van and Casey and April heading towards their small Suzuki, Casey feels pretty good about the whole experience. Especially since when he asked Donnie for his number- after April lost in rock-paper-scissors for the honor- the man had actually looked faintly flustered as he shared contact info with them both.

Casey slides into the driver’s seat, shutting the door in time with April on his right. They sit in quiet for a brief moment, and then April breaks the silence.

“We’re inviting him out for drinks, right?” She states, less asks. It’s already a set plan in her mind, no doubt.

Casey grins, starting the engine. “I think so, yeah. We should invite the other three, too, while we’re at it.”

“Mhm. Cover and company,” April agrees. “I actually had a lot of fun. They seem really nice, if loud.” Casey snorts at that, because ‘loud’ is an understatement. They’d gotten told off twice by the staff for the volume they all reached.

As they pull out of the parking lot, Casey asks, “Think we really got a shot at ‘im?” Because over a short dinner, he’s really warmed to the idea of spending time with Donnie. He’s not just easy on the eyes- and has good taste in jeans- but he’s snarky and smart. Enjoyable to talk to and debate with. Casey likes it when someone talks back at him, hence his longstanding relationship with April, and the hinted softer side Donnie seems to have under his smarmy comebacks makes him even more interesting.

April shrugs, but she’s got a sweet little smile as she does. “I’m pretty I would, but jury’s still out on you.”

“I’m sure my good looks will win him over,” Casey jokes.

April chuckles. “Oh, absolutely.”

As they slow at a stoplight, Casey gets tugged sideways by his collar. April’s cherry chapstick is smooth against his lips for a moment, and he smiles into the chaste kiss. They hold it for a moment, and Casey only pulls away when April does.

“If he’s interested, I’m sure he’ll think you’re as cute as I do,” April says, patting Casey’s cheek. He grins for her, unabashed about his missing teeth and slightly crooked nose, courtesy of one too many fights and careless kid games. He likes to think of himself as ruggedly handsome; April calls him bizarrely charming.

“And we know he already thinks _you’re_ cute,” Casey reminds, because April is and probably always be the prettiest woman out there to him. If Donnie can appreciate that, then Casey would be okay without being included intimately.

His girlfriend laughs, and pulls him back into a kiss. Cherries never tasted so good.

They’re then startled apart as someone honks angrily behind their car, since the light has long since turned green. Casey presses down hard on the gas, and they drive off to their next ghost hunting destination laughing their sides sore.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> if i had a Denny's in my neighborhood, i might live in it.

**Author's Note:**

> [a Ko-fi or two would be really appreciated,](https://ko-fi.com/A3022DE7) because it lets me buy a warm drink and makes me feel loved. <3


End file.
